March 4 Emily

. Our little Christopher was 3 and we were living in Flagstaff, AZ on our own….our entire support system was in California- though we did have some amazing college friends by our sides! We felt alone and sorta like the captains of the Titanic; So proud yet had no idea what we were headed for. Our story began when I was 26 weeks pregnant. I had just graduated from nursing school and noticed I was NOT measuring where I should be; You should be able to measure the top part of my uterus at my umbilicus by 24 weeks and I was measuring just below. My gracious OBGYN, who I think humored my observation because I now worked along side him at the hospital, went ahead and ordered an ultrasound to check things out. To his surprise- I was in fact measuring 2 weeks behind and was diagnosed then with something called Oligiohydraminos (a decreased amount of amniotic fluid). I was watched closely the next five weeks, receiving biweekly testing and ultrasounds. The doctor mentioned the importance of staying hydrated- well I ran with that. Drinking about a gallon of water a day religiously. The week before Emilys birthday I was actually admitted to the hospital to be observed continuously. It’s then that I received my two doses of betamethasone- a steroid to help with Emilys lung maturity and some prophylactic antibiotics. That Friday- it was determined we needed to proceed with the delivery. We opted for a planned cesarean section Saturday morning. Everyone was in attendance and the OR was even warmed up for baby Emily to ease with her transition. Both my mom and my mother in law came to Arizona for this special day! I don’t think either one of us slept that great the night before. We were in the OR and Matt and I were holding hands. I was focusing on breathing and staying calm …for Matt’s sake. If you know Matt- you understand. We both went silent prior to Emily being born... Then that moment….she cried!!!!!! Then we cried. Our journey continued with 5 long weeks in the NICU-
lab draws, a blood transfusion, x-rays, double diapering, phototherapy,
more lab draws, ultrasounds, physical therapy, painful eye examinations,
routine doctor appointments, more follow ups, and pumping every 3 hours until we had to buy a separate deep freezer!! Every day, thousands of babies are born too soon, too small and often very sick-just like Emily! I'm "Marching for Babies" because I want to do something about this and I can't do it alone! Please support our walk. Making a secure donation is easy:
http://www.marchforbabies.org/emilyschmierer

Click the 'donate now' button!!!! Just $5 will make the biggest difference
OR
Come walk with us!!!